The nanny is usually paid a little more than $20-$22 per hour since the carer will have twice the responsibility as well as two families to communicate with.

If you already have a family to share a nanny with then please fill in a nannyshare application form  Or if you would like to share a nanny with another family but can't find one or require more information then please click on nannyshare.

Please also check your legal obligations with regards to employing a nanny/childcarer. You can also click on tips on hiring a childcarer.

Nanny/Housekeeper

A nanny/housekeeper is a nanny who does the house keeping duties for the whole family as well as looking after the children.

At Care for Kidz we do not believe that nannies should also be cleaners. Nannies are employed to look after children and provide a safe, caring and nurturing environment, as well as meet the physical, emotional and social needs of your children. Nannies physically cannot meet these needs if they have to scrub bathrooms, vacuum, mop & dust the whole house, attend to laundry duties, and ironing for the whole family, change all the bed linen and wash that also. Clean out cupboards, ovens, & fridges as well attend to the weekly grocery shopping & supervise the children at the same time. It's impossible! You are risking the safety of your child/children in order to have a clean house. We don't recommend this at all! Nannies are childcare workers, not cleaners!

If you have too many household chores or too little time maybe a private organization might be able to help.


Mother's helper

A mother's helper is 18 years and older. The helper usually has no formal qualifications but has experience with looking after children. Or has qualifications but no experience. A mother's helper works on a team basis with the parent/guardian sharing childcare and domestic cleaning duties with them.

A mother's helper is usually employed to help parents during sickness, injury, or disability or during the early stages after newborn baby is welcomed into the home. The job is designed for the carer to gain more experience. The position is not designed for the helper to have sole charge of the child/children for hours on end nor is it designed for the helper to clean the house for hours on end. The duties are shared 50/50.

A live-out helper is usually paid $18 per hour gross and should not work more than 10 hours per day with weekends off. He/she may work an extra one or two evenings per week of babysitting for a negotiated fee. If you require the carer to work the occasional Saturday or Sunday then most helpers won't mind working for extra money or an extra day off.

A live-in helper is paid a lot less as food and accommodation are provided by the employer. The carer is usually paid $10 per hour gross. The carer should not work more than 12 hours per day with weekends off. He/she may work an extra one or two evenings per week of babysitting for a negotiated fee. If you require the carer to work the occasional Saturday or Sunday then most helpers won't mind working for extra money or an extra day off. A live-in carer usually doesn't have a car, but usually has access to the family car during employment. A live-in helper should have her own bedroom and bathroom or a self contained granny flat or quarters.

If you decide that a Mother's helper is what your family needs, then please fill in a family application form. Also check your legal obligations with employing a Mother's helper. You can also click on tips on hiring a child carer.

Au pair

What is an Au pair? Good question. Definitions from different dictionaries are below:

Au pair- young foreign women who do house work in return for board and lodging.
Au pair-exchange uses a system whereby young people living in different countries stay in each other’s houses to learn the language.
Au pair- exchange a young girl foreign who does domestic work for a small payment and their keep.
Au pair-a young foreign person helping with house work in exchange for room and board and pocket money as a means of learning the language.

In these definitions the role of an au pair is clearly stated. Au pairs are not professional childcarers and have not been selected because of their experience or training in childcare. The concept of an au-pair is that they live with the family to improve their English and experience local culture. The au-pair help around the house and in return receives room and board and some pocket money.

Au pairs usually have little or no experience in childcare and some only have a limited command of English. Au pairs are not nannies and should not be employed as nanny substitutes

Au pairs who are employed in Australia can only work for 3-12 months. If they are on a working visa they can only work for you a maximum 3 months. On a student visa they can only work a maximum 30hrs per week for 12 months only. Therefore, they should not work any more than 25 hours per week with a couple of nights babysitting and are only suited to look after school aged children.

If you decide that an au-pair is what your family needs, then please fill in a family application form. Also check your legal obligations with employing an au-pair. You can also click on tips on hiring a childcarer

Before/ After School Care

Before and after school carers are usually 18 years and older. They have experience in looking after children. They are usually tertiary students who are studying childcare, nursing, teaching or who are former nannies who are furthering their education.

The carers in the mornings will prepare school lunches, tidy up the kitchen area, get the children ready for school and accompanying them to school.

In the afternoon they will pick children up from school, take them to after school activities including appointments, supervise homework, attend to the children's washing and clean any work areas.

A Before / After School Carer is paid Between $22-$27 per hour gross. He/She will work for a minimum of 3 hours per shift. He/She may provide extra care in school holidays for the same hourly rate, and also work the occasional Saturday or Sunday for an extra fee.

The carers usually have their own car. If the carer uses her car during employment then you will be required to pay her a travel allowance.

If you decide that a Before / After school carer is what your family needs, then please fill in a application form. Also check your legal obligations with employing a Before/After school carer. You can also click on tips on hiring a child carer.

Babysitters

Babysitters are 18 years and older. They are usually nannies, mothers helpers, childcare workers, teachers or after school carers or students who are studying in relevant fields. Babysitters usually do not do any housekeeping duties for the children or family, except clean up after the children and any work areas.

We provide sitters in the Sydney area, for hotels, serviced apartments, functions, corporate businesses and private homes. Whether it's for daytime, evenings, weekends, overnight stays, temporary live-ins or live-out positions or for children with special needs. If you require information regarding rates then please click on babysitting.

Childcare Benefit for Registered Care

As of the 1 July 2000 the Federal Government replaced the old childcare rebate with the childcare benefit. It is now administered by the Family Assistance Office. The FAO is a joint venture between the ATO (Australian Tax Office) Centrelink and Health Insurance Commission (Medicare).
Care for Kidz is a registered Childcare provider for registered care, as are our carers. If you need to claim any childcare costs associated with work or studies then please ask at booking.